In my earlier filed application, Ser. No. 850,055, filed on Aug. 14, 1969 and now abandoned, a number of techniques were discussed for maintaining good electrical contact between the non-rotating and rotating race members of an electrical conductor bearing arrangement. Conductor bearing arrangements of this general type characteristically comprise a fixed or non-rotating annular race member, a rotating annular race member adapted to be affixed to a rotating shaft, and a plurality of ball or roller bearings which ride in races defined by the race members. Examples of electrical conductor bearing arrangements of this general type are disclosed in my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 3,501,204.
A very important consideration in constructing conductor arrangements of the type in question is that of providing a constant contact area between the rotating and non-rotating race members which is precisely and continuously maintained. Prior art conductor arrangements generally provide somewhat irregular contact between the fixed and rotating races because of imbalances in the mountings for the races, the geometrical relations between the races and the contact elements whereby different or variable areas of contacts are provided, and the differential expansion of the various parts forming the conductor arrangement.
A further very important consideration is manufacturing cost of the conductor arrangement. Thus, to be economically feasible to manufacture, such an arrangement should be relatively simple in construction yet rugged and efficient, and the individual parts should be relatively inexpensive to make.